🔥Introducing ICONS - Amp Modeling + FX - Plugins & Standalone

I'm completely out of the guitar plugin world, and I don't miss it. But it's cool that a lot of people are into this.

I guess I'm just more interested in what changed Cliff's mind. He seemed so adamant about the "no plugins" thing, and this feels like more than a bit of a 180º.
 
That’s some great news and i love the idea of having fractal plugins!!

Does that means the future hardware will be like a huge powerful cpu plugins loader with switches?
Cause I love this idea too.
 
FractalAudio said:
Wait until you see our GUI.... schweeeeet.

Yes, the pirates are a serious problem. Therefore...

You MUST buy the Axe-PC hardware interface for the product to work. The hardware interface is also your product key. Each one is serialized and locked to your software. The software will NOT run if the interface is not attached to your computer. You don't need to use the interface (i.e. if you're running as a plug-in) but it still needs to be attached. Your computer also needs to be connected to the internet periodically to verify licensing.

I know a lot of people are going to complain about this but we have to do it. A LOT or work went into this product and we need to recoup our investment.
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And another Nov. 18, 2008 post, by cliffc8488 on Rig Talk:

Everything is in there. All the reverbs, compressors, harmonizer, etc. We're probably going to sell a base version and then offer add-on packs. The base version will have amps, cabs, reverb, delay, etc. Then there'll be the "Studio Pack" which will have multi-band compressor, vocoder, etc.

We copied the whole grid-based routing theme as well. So it won't be a virtual rack like the other products. The main interface is the grid. You click on a location to select/edit an effect. When you click on an effect a control panel pops up for editing, very slick.

Our audio interface should be done shortly as well. This completes the package because it uses the "special sauce" front-end electronics from the Axe-Fx. The interface uses the same front-end electronics and converters as the Axe-Fx along with an 8 channel USB interface. There's also MIDI In and Out so you can hook a MIDI controller to it and control the software just like you would an Axe-Fx.

The basic idea is to turn your PC or Mac into an Axe-Fx. [sales pitch mode] You supply the hardware, we supply the audio interface and software. So you get our award-winning modeling and effects running on a PC or Mac. [/sale pitch mode] :D

It isn't going to be cheap though. It won't be as much as an Axe-Fx but it's not going to be in PodFarm (or whatever it's called) territory either. A LOT of development has gone into this. As with the Axe-Fx we don't skimp on things. If you want a cheap product then get GuitarRig or Amplitude. If you want quality and are willing to pay a little extra the Axe-PC is for you.
 
Also what is exactly wrong with the article?
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Well let's see...
Everything you need to create truly iconic tones
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No it doesn't have everything you need

Fractal goes up against Neural DSP and IK Multimedia
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It's not priced competitively, so not a big deal for either of those, and large market share doesn't even seem to be the goal here. Maybe it's up against UAD, dunno.

its first-ever plugin
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It's not Fractal's first-ever plugin.
 
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Never thought I'd see this from Fractal, but alas, here we are! Awesome direction to go in for 2026. Congrats to the team on this release.

I've tried to read through all 16 pages so far here and have seen this brought up a few times - so, to echo - the lack of connection from the plugin to the hardware is ... a little disappointing and a missed opportunity IMO. At the least (with DynaCab HD aside) having the ability to create a preset in the plugin and then be able to save it and use it on the AXE FX (III, FM9, FM3) literally is the ICONIC flow. At least that's what it has been with the NDSP side (as much as it has been implemented). The plugins take the thousands of available options and combinations from the hardware and curate them into a small, themed group with a highly developed, easy to use, and aesthetic GUI in which to be creative and create tones. Once you have something you like, you save it and load it onto the hardware. Completely solves for the option paralysis you get in Axe Edit (which is a perfectly effective tool btw - just extremely busy).

This plugin is a great step in the right direction ... expertly groups all the Fender amps together with a list of cabs, pedals, and other gear that would be synonymous with these amps and tones (again - solves for the "what do people usually use with a Fender Bassman?" questions), with a greater emphasis on the feel of the GUI (to get you closer to dialing in a real amp - controls and fancy realistic knobs DO make a difference despite me not wanting to admit it). It's all here - with tons of options for different groups and "families" of amps in the future. Now we just need it to port over to the Axe FX so we can take those great tones with us (and take advantage of the DSP and zero latency on the hardware - and let our DAW focus on the session). Total win-win. AXE FX users get a new creative playground that integrates with our HW units, Plugin users finally get to access the Fractal world of tones.

Again, this is coming from a place of total respect. Love the idea of the plugin, and I'm sure it will be wildly popular. Just hope that sometime in the future, Fractal may revisit the concept of working in some synergies with the plugin and the hardware!
 
vangrieg said:
Well let's see...

No it doesn't have everything you need


It's not priced competitively, so not a big deal for either of those, and large market share doesn't even seem to be the goal here. Maybe it's up against UAD, dunno.


It's not Fractal's first-ever plugin.
Click to expand...

harry connick jr nitpicking GIF by American Idol
 
You learn something new every day. This should be an ad for reading the damn manual. I had ZERO CLUE all those parameters on the am-4 were available by holding the page buttons down. Mind blown.
 
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